homeschool break

This summer, summer of 2014 has been THE busiest I think I have ever experienced. Summers in Hobbs, New Mexico are busy in and of themselves, but this year, I added in a few things. Here’s how it has gone.

At the end of April, I was contacted by our Stake Young Women’s President. She’s a bosom buddy of mine. I thought it was just a friendly text, but it turned out to be a calling. She wanted me to be the level leader for the 2nd year girls at girls camp. What it entailed was in me getting together with the Hobbs YCL’s aka older girls, to plan the certifications for the 2nd year girls. It took me so long to get a grasp of what I was to be doing. I haven’t been to girls camp in around 15 years or so.

To start off the summer. Hobbs offers a ton of classes for children during the summer. I’m talking art, sports, swimming, sports, sports, educational classes up at the JC, and sports. It is easy to sign up for a ton of stuff. While some had a cost, there were plenty that are free. This summer, the girls signed up for swimming lessons, golf and volleyball. Swimming was for 2 weeks, Monday through Friday, golf was every week day for 6 or 7 weeks (last Thursday the 24th was the last day), and volleyball was twice a week for the same duration. On top of that, I signed up to play on a co-ed volleyball league. Luckily, unlike last year, we only had one night a week that we played. But I felt like the entire first part of the month had me going from one thing to the next. I was exhausted before I even got to camp!

Camp was at the end of June. I had everything all planned out. Maybe I’ll share my ideas with ya’ll in another post! Say please! Hehehe…. Camp was an amazing experience. I enjoyed myself immensely. The two other leaders I shared a tent with apparently claim that we had a snoring trio going on. Lol, the 2nd night, I was too out of it to have heard. Earlier that day, I had to accompany the 2nd year girls on a 5 mile hike. After that, I was exhausted!

Here’s the kicker. We had a vacation to Nauvoo, IL planned already. It just so happens that I would be done the day before we would pull out on vacation. Phew! That was a busy week! We left Saturday morning around 8 am Texas/Illinois time. We arrived Sunday morning at about 4:30 am. We really underestimated the length of that trip. But we made it and went to church at 8 am that morning. Afterward, we slept for about 3 hours before we decided to go and visit Carthage, IL and the jail in which Joseph Smith was martyred.

Did I mention that my mom and dad are on a mission in Nauvoo? So they allowed us to stay with them in their tiny home, the William Gheen home. I am very grateful for the hospitality. We really enjoyed our stay there. We were there for nearly an entire week! We saw as much as we could see, and we loved every second of it. That too, needs its own post. We took some amazing pictures to share.

We left Friday morning for home, which happened to be Independence Day! We traveled to a few more LDS Church Historical sites. We visited Adam-Ondi-Ohman and Liberty Jail on our way home. We stayed in Wichita, Kansas, then made our way home by Saturday evening the 5th.

On the 6th of July, I had to give a lesson in Sunday School. I had a lot of time on the road to read and prepare for it. So aside from being tired, I was ready.

So along with all of these things that I had to do and places I had to go, I also needed to work on organization, laundry (we are sorting out the “too smalls” and “not warns”), and planning the next homeschool year… among everything else that constantly gets dirty. Then on top of that a friend roped me into starting up a homeschool co-op! I wanted to do it last year, but was met with zero interest from other people. A co-op means that everyone who participates pitches in to do their fair share of the work. This will be the 2nd co-op that I run here in Hobbs. The other is Bountiful Baskets, a produce and food co-op. So, the week after I got back from vacation, I had a meeting planned with my friend who encouraged me to get it going. We planned everything down to the code of conduct/participation agreement. Then one week later, we met with the other interested ladies to finalize some details. Now, NEXT week, we will be meeting again to plan for the first semester! Whew! And I thought things would slow down in July!

Did I mention that I am also on the Enrichment Board in Relief Society? We had a Super Saturday planned for last week, the 19th. I was in charge of teaching two Christmas crafts. So, right after my meeting, I had to finalize those details and purchase the supplies and practice making them….AND then I had to go get groceries and help set up for Super Saturday, then there was a baby shower after the setting up. After that I went on a date with Hoss, woke up and went to the church to participate in the activities and teach my classes. Then there was a baby shower after that that I could not get to! I ran out of breath typing this, because this is how I felt. Most of this happened within a 3 day span. Then the next day I had another lesson to teach in church.

I was supposed to relax that next week, but I was cornered by a sister in the ward who has been filling in for another sister in the ward whose baby is having health issues, that is the primary chorister. The substitute had to leave town that weekend and asked if I would fill in. Oh boy! I had never done that before. Now, I have another lesson to plan for this week! Then July is over! Then August starts up, and school shortly afterward!

I guess my relaxation for the summer isn’t going to happen! Its been hoppin’ and goin’. But overall, I think the kids have had a really grand time!…and so have I when it comes down to it!

In the in betweens, we have been able to go swimming for free! Two of the pools here in Hobbs are free, which is fun and a nice option for us during these hot days!

I think I am ready for the school year to start. Maybe then I can get some relaxation in….. Ah, who am I kidding!